The globalization of food supply chains, population growth, increased consumer scrutiny and technological advances over the last decade have underscored the need for specific regulatory changes in the food industry. This is particularly relevant for Asia, where analysts predict the purchasing power and middle-class population of Asia Pacific will surpass that of the US and Europe combined by 2030. Our first Food Law Guide prepared by our Sydney office in 2018 laid an exceptional foundation for this current updated version, which now covers 12 jurisdictions across Asia Pacific, including Korea. The guide provides a summary of food law regulations.
We are pleased to present the second edition in 2024 of Ukrainian Laws in Wartime: Guide for International and Domestic Businesses, a brief overview of the key features of wartime legislation.
The National Civil Aviation Agency published Resolution No. 743 of 15 May 2024, which regulates the monitoring and offsetting of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) on international flights under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. The resolution comes into force on 1 January 2025.
On Wednesday 29 May 2024, the Swedish Parliament voted to adopt a bill to transpose the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive into local law. The new reporting requirements will enter into force on 1 July 2024 meaning that companies will have to report pursuant to the CSRD for the first time for the fiscal year beginning after June 2024. Accordingly, all companies with a calendar year as fiscal year will have to apply the legislation for the first time for FY2025.
On Wednesday 29 May 2024, the Swedish Parliament voted to adopt a bill to transpose the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into local law. The new reporting requirements will enter into force on 1 July 2024 meaning that companies will have to report pursuant to the CSRD for the first time for the fiscal year beginning after June 2024. Accordingly, all companies with a calendar year as fiscal year will have to apply the legislation for the first time for FY2025.
Since 18 February 2024, most parts of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries (“Batteries Regulation”) apply in all EU Member States. The new Regulation repeals and replaces the existing Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC) and seeks to make all batteries placed on the EU market more durable, safe, sustainable, and efficient. It significantly expands the extended producer responsibility (EPR) regime created by the existing Directive by introducing more detailed mandatory design, content and conformity assessment requirements aimed at ensuring the sustainability and circularity of batteries.
On 1 January 2022, Switzerland introduced due diligence and reporting requirements to address risks in the supply chains of Switzerland-based businesses related to child labor and so-called conflict minerals. On 24 May 2024, the European Council adopted the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), which imposes EU-level due diligence requirements in the value chain (i.e., upstream and downstream), on top of existing regulations in this area at the EU member state level.
In this update, we provide an overview of the evolving regulatory landscape of supply chain due diligence requirements in Switzerland and the EU, as well as their practical implications, and we suggest action items for Swiss businesses with respect to supply chain governance and compliance programs. In doing so, we refer to further materials prepared by our environmental, social and governance (ESG) team across our EU offices.
The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) has ruled on a case brought against Switzerland by the Swiss association KlimaSeniorinnen on behalf of its members and four individual women of the association. The ECtHR found that Switzerland has violated Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to take timely and sufficient action to adopt and implement relevant legislation and measures to mitigate climate change. The ECtHR also held that, from a procedural perspective, Switzerland failed to grant effective access to court to challenge the insufficient implementation of mitigation measures. In this contribution, we summarize the background of the case and the ECtHR’s decision and analyze its possible impacts.
In our final week of the Annual Compliance conference, we focussed on key issues being faced by companies on ESG, supply chain and product compliance. Specifically, we discussed the new legal landscape in the EU and UK on product compliance and liability, supply chain due diligence trends and developments, and how to manage environmental, social and governance risks and increasing legislation in the US, UK and EU aimed at cracking down on vague, misleading, or unsubstantiated green claims.
On 23 May 2024, the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, published as Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, entered into force following its adoption by the Council of the EU and European Parliament on 11 April 2024 and its publication in the EU’s Official Journal earlier this month.